Shaxster reviews one of the most highly anticipated PS3 games of this generation.
You walk through the empty sewers, your footsteps echoing softly against the haunting music. You dive underwater, push past the gruesome corpses, and enter into a new room. Climbing the conveniently placed ladder, you see an ominous door. Creep towards it. Behind it, you hear the terrifying sound of a Clicker. The repulsive, fear inducing monstrosities that populate this post-apocalyptic world. You stand just in front of the door for five minutes, paralysed with fear. Then you open it, and scream. This is the best moment I’ve ever experienced in a game. This is The Last of Us.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS IS SOMETHING TO MARVEL AT, AND ITS EVOLUTION IS NOTHING SHORT OF MAGNIFICENT
The supporting characters are equally brilliant and, along with the gorgeous graphics and superb level design, create a post-apocalyptic world that feels all too real. You can sincerely feel the disasters that have occurred, and small details such as weathered movie posters contribute to a larger sense of a lost society. Collectable notes that are scattered around levels add to this, fully immersing you in a desolate world.
And all this is to say nothing of the plot itself. Now, I hate to use cliches, but it is an emotional roller coaster. It will challenge your concepts of morality, bring you to tears and terrify you in equal measure, and all whilst telling a distinctly human story. It’s incredibly difficult to talk about this without spoiling anything, and it really is something that should be experienced yourself. I’ll just say that it’s full of incredible moments that you will never forget, accompanied by a script that is equally memorable.
The only area which could be considered a fault is the ending, which may leave some unsatisfied and unfulfilled. Personally, I didn’t feel this way: the game reached what was, for me, its natural conclusion. But the fact that there is room for complaint at all is a slight negative.
We must remember that this isn’t a movie, and the gameplay has equal importance. Fortunately, The Last of Us is equally strong in this regard. The game masterfully blends together action and stealth during its many combat sequences, and the controls work well enough to ensure you never feel too frustrated. There is also significant freedom to choose between taking a direct, guns blazing approach; or a more subtle and sneaky method. Both work equally well, although the scarce resources may force you to play more stealthily: ammo is very hard to come by. This is another plus for the game: it really puts the survival in survival horror. There is constant scavenging, and you really do feel desperate for supplies. It’s yet another trick that Naughty Dog employ to improve the realism of the world.
My one complaint with the combat is that it’s too…game-y. Each fight does end up feeling quite similar: throw a bottle to distract an enemy, sneak up on him from behind, strangle him to death, move on. That’s drawn out even more when facing Infected: I almost always found myself playing exactly the same way each time. Admittedly, there was still a fair amount of tension, but the fact that the game succumbs to this repetition is disappointing, considering how strong it is in every other regard.
The fact that the game is too much like a game stretches over into other aspects, as well. Platforming sections littered throughout the game are mundane and overly similar, as are any attempts at puzzles. Taking Ellie across a river with a wooden pallet is boring once, let alone five or ten times. I know just how ridiculous it sounds to criticize TLOU for being too game-y, but as it’s a game that clearly demands higher standards in other areas, that applies here too. We cannot push the medium forward without tackling all fronts.
There are also a few small oddities you’ll experience that are a little off-putting. The most obvious of these is that enemies do not respond to your AI companions. It is very strange to see Ellie run directly in front of a guard whilst not attracting any attention. The odd cover system contributes to this issue, as often you’ll be seen unless you’ve got the joystick pressed so that you’re hugging a crate at just the right angle.
The Last of Us has a dolloping of multiplayer on the side, known as “Factions”. It’s pretty standard fare: two Team Deathmatch-like modes are available to play, and the game attempts to sprinkle some plot in with the action. Your ultimate aim is to grow your clan, but apart from this overarching goal, there’s no real plot to speak of: you just play matches, gain points, and your clan grows accordingly. Needless to say, you won’t be spending too much time in this mode when there’s the superb single player mode to explore, but this does add replay value. Also, kudos to Naughty Dog for making sure the mode doesn’t completely disregard the game’s lore.MULTIPLAYER
CONCLUSION
But, of course, these negatives pale in comparison to the experience of actually playing the game. Sure, you might feel an overwhelming sense of deja vu, but that quickly goes away once you spot a Clicker (one of the most terrifying video game villains ever designed). Accompanied by the haunting soundtrack, you’ll try to sneak past it. And that tension that you feel during those moments? That can’t be oversold.
Because, at the end of the day, The Last of Us is a brilliant game. It’s an absolute work of art. And whilst it isn’t perfect, it sure as hell is close. Will you have fun playing it? Certainly not: it’s not a game that you play for fun. It’s a game that you play so that you can experience a superb attempt at storytelling. A game you play to go on an emotional journey. A game that you’d be mad not to play. This is The Last of Us, and by god is it good.
THE GOOD
- Captivating story
- Engrossing gameplay
- Superb characters, aesthetics and game world
THE BAD
- Somewhat repetitive gameplay
- A potentially unsatisfying ending
- A few glitches and oddities
THE UGLY
- Nothing
SCORE
INFORMATION
The Last of Us is out now on PS3.
The reviewer purchased the game himself.
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